


Drifting Ayewards

by niqaeli



Category: Magids Series - Jones
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-21
Updated: 2009-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-04 21:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niqaeli/pseuds/niqaeli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Based only on the first book; apologies if it contradicts the second!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Drifting Ayewards

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silveronthetree](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveronthetree/gifts).



> Based only on the first book; apologies if it contradicts the second!

I made it as a Magid, of course. The Upper Room hadn't been too thrilled, but I was right for it. Well, and they tried to take my memories from me a second time but I beat that too and after that they figured it wasn't worth it. Someone who's clever enough to beat their whole neuralyser trick twice is clever enough to beat it three times. And it's not good to mess around with someone's memories too much, especially not someone with talent.

Now, I never did get my Magids game published, not as such, because Rupert's a total rat and stopped it from getting out (and that's what led to that second go-round with the Upper Room, by the way). But I _did_ write a couple of books that circled around the deep secret about Babylon. Ted helped me clean up the manuscripts into, I quote, "a solid story," and if you ever thought writing fiction was easy then you've never bloody tried writing it yourself. Plot and narrative expectations and all that. He put a word in for me with his agent, too. He looked awfully strange after he read through them, mind, like he could tell it wasn't nearly as fictitious as all that, but I was still his sort-of-son. Well, he'd liked me better than he ever liked Janine -- I still don't think of her as Jaleila, even now -- and chosen family's more important than blood, anyway.

So that all went about like I'd thought. Not exactly the way I'd planned on, maybe, but close enough. I'm a Magid and a writer; I get to tell stories and let out the secrets, the special knowledge. Help drag Infinity back Ayewards, just a bit. If you ask me, the whole thing with science versus magic's all false. There's belief and lack of belief and that's Ayewards and Naywards, and science isn't the problem. Not really. Plenty of scientists have their head screwed on straight; I know a couple of quantum physicists who _ought_ to've been mages, if not Magids! I'd swear a few of them were in, past lives. You can tell if you squint just right, really, it's all around them. So my next book's going to be science fiction and fantasy. Ted's shaking his head in despair, don't cross the streams m'boy, but genre fiction's popular with the young adult market these days and kids don't care what you call it as long as they have someone to identify with.

But you know what I didn't ever figure on was _baby-sitting_. I never have figured what Maree thought she was on about, putting me in charge of their kids! She knows me as well as anyone, and I haven't stopped being selfish. I've just gotten a little more enlightened in how I go about being selfish.

She insisted, though, and now I've got nieces and nephews and oh help us, they're all nightmares. Good kids, I guess, but... Maree hated living with her aunt and now they've got four kids. Four! It's always so bloody loud at their house, between the kids and the quacks, which have great-grandchicks running around at this point. And she has _me_ baby-sitting! Me!

The really weird thing is, the kids all love Uncle Nick. Maybe because I don't mess around, who knows. Derek's the eldest, he's all right. I guess I can see why Rupert thought I was such a pain, because he's just like me (I hear Rupert was as bad, so I guess Derek's his karma more than mine). He'll smile and nod and is as agreeable as you please and then he slides right out of everything. I think he respects the fact that I don't get fooled. Maree and Rupert don't put up with much, either, but there's Nicole and Stanley and Theo as well. And Theo's just about enough trouble for anyone all on his own -- he's five and tempermental and _strong_. Have you ever tried telling a five year old that it's wrong to lay compulsions on people?

Maybe _that's_ why Maree has me baby-sitting. I'm about as compulsion-proof as they come. One of the few useful things I got out of my childhood, I guess.

But you can see why you can just count me out. I'm sworn off marriage and kids! Maree and Rupert just share a smile when they hear that but they're just plain nuts if they think anyone's going to get me interested in doing anything like that full-time!

Besides, there _is_ someone. And certain things are just plain anatomically impossible, in more than one way, so it's just as well. (Yes, yes, we could adopt or whatever. Even if I totally lost my mind, though, I doubt he'd go for it. Chosen family's important to me, but even the most enlightened centaur is still bloodline-obsessed enough to find the idea bizarre.)

Rob thinks I'm nuts -- well, that we're both nuts, to be honest. But he's just as glad no kids are coming out of it; sure, he came out okay, but he still feels guilty about his Mom. Like it's his bloody fault! Really, sometimes, I wish he were a little more selfish. Not self-centred, just selfish. He's so bloody kingly, sometimes, it about makes me sick. At least the Koryfonic Empire will be in excellent hands when Koryfos fucks back off to the Upper Room or... whatever happens to Archons when they die or get bored of being incarnate. (Imagine what it would've been like with me as Emperor. I mean, if I hadn't managed to slip off; I'm good but I'm not sure Rupert wouldn't have managed to keep me there. He really is damned good, hard as he was on himself over the whole mess that brought us all where we are.)

Some day I'll have to introduce Trei to Maree and Rupert. Not looking forward to that; Maree will snipe and Rupert will just sit there looking amused. But maybe it'll get them to knock off with the smirking. Oh, who am I kidding? It'll probably just make them smirk more, so who cares. I should tell them soon, I guess, before it gets just plain awkward.

No, things've turned out pretty well. I've a feeling, nothing so specific I could point to it but a feeling nonetheless, that something Really Interesting will be happening soon. Maybe not something Intended, but stuff the Upper Room's Intentions. I got into this business because it was interesting.

I just hope whatever it is, it doesn't involve Maree's kids. She'll never forgive me!


End file.
